DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO  Kevin Faulconer vowed Monday to reduce fire and ambulance response times citywide by the end of 2015.

The pledge comes in a three-point “Neighborhood Fairness Plan” the San Diego City Councilman and mayoral candidate released Monday.

In it, Faulconer says its “unconscionable” that some city residents are at greater risk than others when they need an ambulance or firefighters.

“There is a greater risk that it will take longer for a fire truck to reach your home if you live in Southeastern San Diego,” Faulconer said. “It is the city’s moral obligation to provide equitable emergency services to every community.”

His plan references a report that calls for building five more fire stations in underserved neighborhoods, but recommends immediately improving response times with a temporary fire station in Skyline and increasing the number of ambulances on the streets.

Officials say they fail to meet expected response times for fire and ambulance service in about 30 percent of all calls for service. The national response time standard for firefighters calls for arrival within five minutes 90 percent of the time. San Diego was meeting that goal in 54 percent of the cases with an average response time of five minutes and nine seconds, according to a 2011 study. Since then, the city has increased its standard for response times to seven minutes and 30 second but has still encountered difficulty meeting that goal.

The neighborhood plan reiterates Faulconer’s promise to rebuild the city police department to insure it is fully staffed, and to rebuild its gang suppression unit and deploy more of those officers in areas where gangs are prevalent.

Faulconer also is calling for expanded after-school programs at libraries and recreation centers through pursuit of joint-use agreements with the San Diego Unified School District to increase operating hours.

If he wins the special election to replace Bob Filner and serve out the three years remaining on the former mayor’s term, Faulconer is promising to work closely with educational programs to increase access to job training programs and internships for at-risk youths. His goal is to create 2,500 summer jobs for them by the end of 2015.

When it comes to infrastructure, his plan calls for equal investment in street and road repairs, streetlights, sidewalks and public safety facilities.

“Many of the San Diego’s urban communities are lacking basic infrastructure such as safe sidewalks and functioning streetlights,” his plan states. “Children are forced to walk to and from school in the dark, without safe sidewalks and adequately lit streets. Parents should feel comfortable that their children can safely walk to and from school.”

The city’s most neglected neighborhoods will see the first work, he said, with the focus on creating safe routes to schools.

“Every community will have adequate police staffing to keep families safe, after school programs to provide safe places for children to play and learn, and equitable funding for streetlights and critical neighborhood services,” the plan concludes.

Faulconer, the Republican Party's endorsed candidate, has been releasing a series of actions plans laying out his vision for the city if he becomes San Diego's next mayor. Chief rivals David Alvarez, the first-term City Councilman and Democratic Party backed candidate, and Qualcomm executive Nathan Fletcher have also been rolling out their plans for improving the city's economy, neighborhoods and public safety services.

Mail ballots for the Nov. 19 special election are going out today. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers move on to a runoff election early next year.